Ruckus in House as Mirabag protesters shout slogans

Porvorim: The assembly saw chaotic scenes on Friday after four people protested in the visitors’ gallery with placards and shouted slogans against the bandhara project at Mirabag on the first day of the budget session. The protesters were taken out of the gallery by the assembly security. The opposition MLAs rushed to the well of the House to raise the issue.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant moved a breach of privilege to investigate the incident. Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai moved an adjournment motion to discuss the bandhara protest issue. “Govt has to come clear on the issue,” he said.


When Sardesai sought a ruling on the adjournment motion from speaker Ganesh Gaonkar, four people in the gallery stood up with placards and shouted, “We want justice. We don’t want bandhara.”

“They don’t have the right to speak in the assembly. Check who issued them a pass. They will shoot next time. You (opposition) cannot bring people to the assembly. You have the right to ask. You will ask them to shoot at us. This is a wrong precedent,” Sawant said in the assembly.

After the speaker urged the opposition to sit, the opposition went to their benches. “There are a lot of questions on the issue and that is the reason I disallow the adjournment motion,” the speaker.

The protesters were placed under preventive arrest after the security of the assembly handed them over to Porvorim police.

Sawant moved a breach of privilege to investigate the incident in the assembly. Sardesai said that when protesters sat on a protest for over 27 days, not a single govt representative met them. Sawant said he held a meeting with them.